Dez Bryant calls ‘Madden 17’ rating ‘an insult’

Dez Bryant is not happy with his rating in Madden 17. The Dallas Cowboys’ star checks in at 90 and is ranked as the eighth best receiver, something he sees as a slight.

“I play Madden, I [expletive] love Madden,” Bryant said, per Jon Machota of Dallasnews.com. “They would do me like that? Oh my God. That is an insult, like why would you do that to me? How much I love y’all. Like what? Not John Madden, because I love him. It’s the developers.”

Bryant, though, is not worried about his ranking, expressing confidence that it will look a lot better in the future.

“I’m not worried about that. That rating going to shoot up real quick, you best believe that,” he said.

While Bryant may not like his ranking, he does keep good company. Only seven other receivers have rankings at 90 or higher. He joins Antonio Brown (97), Julio Jones (96), Odell Beckham Jr. (93), DeAndre Hopkins (93), A.J. Green (93), Larry Fitzgerald (91) and Alshon Jeffery (91).

While Bryant may not like his rating, his pre-2015 reputation is what makes it as high as 90. Ordinarily, receivers who caught only 31 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns in nine games in the preceding season aren’t ranked anywhere near 90 in Madden.

Based on his early showings this preseason, however, we’re confident he’ll soon see top-five status.